


Slings and Arrows

by cherie_morte



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Blind Date, Deaf Character, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22503958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherie_morte/pseuds/cherie_morte
Summary: Jensen is having a nice dinner out by himself when an excitable stranger sits down at his table and starts talking. A lot.
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Comments: 53
Kudos: 646





	Slings and Arrows

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Be Mine Valentine's Day Comment Meme](https://kelleigh.livejournal.com/360397.html) responding to the prompt: "[Someone shows up to the wrong restaurant for their VDay blind date. They mistakenly think the person sitting alone in the corner is who they're suppose to be meeting.](https://kelleigh.livejournal.com/360397.html?thread=4047053#t4047053)"
> 
> One million thanks to [sweetheartdean](https://twitter.com/sweetheartdean) for being a very quick last minute beta and for answering questions/reading through to advise on my representation of deafness.

There’s a large man sitting at Jensen’s table. Jensen doesn’t especially mind, because the aforementioned man is probably the hottest guy he’s ever seen in his entire life, but nevertheless, it bears stating. At some point between his salad being delivered and the bite Jensen just finished and looked up from, he apparently gained a dining partner.

Jensen sits back and blinks a few times, confused enough to consider that maybe he’s the one who is out of line, but no, he was here first and this guy definitely just sat down and started talking.

The man is a public safety hazard, over-excited and animated, waving his arms around like he’s _trying_ to catch a waiter off guard and knock a tray down. Jensen tries to follow what he’s saying, but the stranger is going at a million miles a minute. Honestly, it’s probably annoying, but Jensen has no complaints. The man looks loud, but to Jensen he's a muffled hum along with the rest of the conversation from the tables around them, and for all the nervous energy the man is putting out, it's kind of cute how his shaggy brown hair flops along with his movements. Jensen is perfectly content to stare until the dude has talked himself out.

After a few long seconds, the guy stops abruptly and stares at Jensen, looking anxious.

“I’m talking too much,” he says, or at least that’s Jensen’s best guess. Jensen nods, because he’s pretty confident the guy is in fact talking too much.

It’s dark in the restaurant, but from the way the man ducks his head, Jensen’s pretty sure he’s blushing. He says something else, but he’s turned his face down too much for Jensen to see his mouth, and Jensen shakes his head.

“I can’t—” he begins, pointing to his ear, because that generally gets the point across.

Opposite him, the man’s head snaps up and his very pretty mouth is now shaped like an ‘O’. Jensen has a few thoughts about that as he watches the confusion slowly fade into a smile.

To his surprise, the guy stops waving his hands in the air and instead brings one to his chest, immediately signing “I’m sorry.”

Jensen sits up a little, his attention newly restored, because the plot twist where the beautiful man knows how to sign was not one he anticipated. Before he can respond, the stranger launches into another long flurry of conversation, this time in sign language.

“Gen didn't mention that you were deaf," he says. Jensen tries to remember if he even knows a Gen, but again, he doesn't get much of a chance to say anything, because his mystery companion keeps going. "Explains why you didn't respond to me. I was starting to worry you didn't like me. Which would suck because, how often does this happen? Look at you."

Jensen does look down at himself, then back up, still lost because he looks perfectly normal as far as he's concerned. His lack of response doesn't seem to be a problem. The man is very comfortable holding the entire conversation for both of them.

"I tried to say no to the set up but she insisted I would really like you. And I figured dinner with a total stranger at least beats spending Valentine's Day on my couch. Now I feel like I owe her a fruit basket or something." He pauses to watch Jensen and then his expression drops. "I get really nervous when I meet someone I'm actually interested in and I start babbling. I think I'm doing that right now. Should I shut up? I'll shut up."

When finally the guy stops and allows room for Jensen to respond, all Jensen can think to say is, "Who are you?"

The guy's forehead wrinkles, which shouldn't be as cute as it actually is. "What do you mean? I'm Jared. Gen's friend, Jared? Your date. Don't tell me I have the wrong table. You're the only other single diner here and you have _Anna Karenina_ sitting next to your salad."

Jensen glances over at the book and swipes it off the table, trying to hide it by setting it on his lap. Somehow it didn't feel pathetic to be reading tragic Russian literature by himself at a nice restaurant _on Valentine's Day_ until the world's most talkative underwear model sat down across from him and pointed it out.

"Gen said to meet you here at 7 and I would know who you were because you'd have your favorite book with you. She didn't tell me you had such good taste. I'm more into _War and Peace_ myself, but you could have brought something terrible, and then where would we be?"

It figures. A Greek god who knows sign language and appreciates Tolstoy and thinks Jensen is hot literally drops into his life, and it’s just a case of mistaken identity. Jared already has a date, and with Jensen's luck, they'll hit it off and get married in a year, and Jensen will just so happen to be hired to photograph the wedding, which is especially unfortunate because Jensen isn't a professional photographer or a photographer of any kind at all.

The waitress stops next to them, taking Jensen's salad plate and as Jared watches her set down the chicken Jensen ordered twenty minutes ago, realization dawns on his face.

"You already ordered." He licks his lips. "Please tell me it's because you're really rude and got started without your date. It would be incredibly embarrassing if I just sat down at a random guy's table and started harassing him in the middle of his dinner."

Jensen shrugs and Jared asks, "You're not Stephen, are you?"

When he shakes his head, Jared stays frozen in horror, staring ahead at Jensen. Calm for the first time since he appeared, but in a way that makes Jensen worry he's trying to sink into the floor.

"I'm Jensen," Jensen tells him, just to say something that might save Jared from melting his own brain while attempting to evaporate.

"Jensen," Jared repeats. He signs Jensen's name but also shapes the word with his mouth, and something about the deliberate way he makes sure Jensen can see what he's saying makes Jensen's heart kind of quiver.

"Your sign language is very good," Jensen tells him.

Jared smiles, obviously more relieved that Jensen is letting the enormity of his mistake pass unremarked on than flattered by the compliment. "My best friend Shoshannah is deaf. We grew up next door to each other."

Jensen takes the book from his lap and sets it back down in the middle of the table. "You really like the classics, or were you just being nice?"

"I wouldn't lie about something this important. The favorite book exercise determines the success of the entire date. You can tell a lot about a person from what they read."

"What does this say about me?" Jensen asks. "Other than 'loser can't get a date on Valentine's, orders chicken with a side of depression instead.'"

"Passionate," Jared responds, holding Jensen's gaze. "I like a man who isn't afraid to show emotion. Most of the guys I date bring _On the Road_ or something awful like that."

"Hey, I like _On the Road_!" Jensen replies.

"I do too," Jared admits. "But you know what I mean. Those guys who read one Kerouac novel and think they are the only ones who really _get_ it. Sometimes a bad book still says something good about the other person, but sometimes you can take one look at the good book they brought and already know you're in for an hour of fragile masculinity."

Jensen laughs, because he actually does know what Jared is talking about. He's about to carry on the impromptu lit review, but then his heart drops as he catches sight of a guy being seated at a table all the way on the other side of the room. Dining alone. He sets a book down next to his plate, along with a single red rose. And he's hot, too. Fuck.

Jared turns to see what has Jensen so upset and when he looks back, the awkwardness has returned to his expression. "Stephen, I guess."

"Probably," Jensen agrees. "Good luck."

"Better be him, because if I go hit on another guy just to find out it's way more common to eat out with a book on Valentine's than I thought, I'm swearing off dating forever." Jared doesn't move for a few seconds, looking like he's considering something, but finally he stands. "It was nice meeting you. Sorry again for…" Gesturing vaguely at everything around him, Jared quickly turns on his heels and hurries across the restaurant to meet his actual date.

Jensen makes a point of only watching until he's seen Jared go through the motions of introducing himself and the guy—Stephen, Jensen's least favorite person on the planet currently—smiles and nods and gestures for him to sit down. Then he turns his attention to his chicken and his book and the nice, private night out he had planned.

His resolve is solid for about three minutes, at which point Jensen starts glancing up and over at Jared across the restaurant, trying to get a sense of how the date is going. Jensen's lip-reading isn't all it could be, but body language he knows, and Jared should be a much easier read than the material Jensen brought with him judging by how emotive he was with Jensen.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as Jensen is hoping. There's a clear difference in how Jared is talking to his date; he's measured and restrained, but he smiles and laughs and doesn't look miserable. Jensen can't decide if that's better or worse, if Jared feels more at ease with this guy or if he's lacking the nerves he claimed came with attraction. Maybe he humiliated himself so much by mistaking Jensen for his date that he's no longer worried he can screw this second attempt up no matter how much he likes the guy.

Whatever it is, Jensen knows it's not his business. He should go back to reading and not neglect his dinner until it's lukewarm, but Jared's the one who crashed his night and now Jensen can't focus on anything else. The waitress removes his plate after Jensen takes entirely too long to finish his food, and even though he's all tangled up in knots and not the least bit interested in eating, Jensen finds himself ordering a double chocolate cake slice just to drag his meal out a little longer.

He's not sure what he's trying to accomplish. There's no way he'll be able to outlast a date that started after his entrée arrived, and even if he does, he has no idea what his plan would be beyond that. Wait around outside for Jared to leave. Try to get his number. He'll probably still be with his stupid, attractive date who Jensen hates so very very much.

The happy couple get their food before Jensen's dessert is ready, and Jensen watches as Stephen dives into his fish with gusto. Jared moves more slowly as he picks up his fork and before taking a bite, his eyes jump across the room, catching Jensen's exactly. Jensen nearly panics, because he's so caught, but the thing is that from where he's sitting, the light hits Jared's cheeks much more than it had when he was at Jensen's table, and the bright pink that blossoms there, along with how Jared ducks his head again, is a dead giveaway. Jared is as busted as Jensen is, which means that he's been sneaking glances just the same as Jensen has.

Jensen can't help how wide he grins as he observes Jared struggling to decide how to respond to the situation. He seems to try to ignore it and focus on Stephen again, but when Stephen looks down at his plate, Jared throws Jensen a private smile, points to the book on the table in front of him and signs " _Fight Club_ " as he rolls his eyes.

Laughing outright, Jensen acts out a dramatic show of distress, and Jared has to pick up his napkin and pretend to wipe the food he still hasn't touched off his lips in order to cover his grin. Jensen's cake gets dropped off a few minutes later and Jensen deserves some kind of trophy for how long he makes it last.

Just as Jensen's check arrives, Stephen gets up to go to the bathroom. As soon as he's out of sight, Jared drops all pretense. He makes sure Jensen is looking and signs, "Save me, this guy sucks."

"What's wrong with him?" Jensen asks. "Aside from the fragile masculinity?"

Jared throws his head back like he's laughing and when he's done, he makes a face that will feature in possibly all of Jensen's fantasies for the rest of his life. It's dripping with confidence as he shapes his words. "He's not you."

There's probably some kind of ethical standard against hitting on guys while they're literally in the middle of a date with someone else, but Jensen decides right then and there that this time next year, if he's eating his dinner with Anna Karenina, it's going to be because his boyfriend Jared decided to invite her along.

He hurries through the math to calculate tip and writes his phone number down on a slip of paper, rising to walk out while Jared is still alone. As he passes Jared's table, he drops his number on top of the worn copy of _Fight Club_ and plays it completely cool, not even glancing at Jared as he makes his exit. He doesn't look back until he's at the door, but he can see Stephen retaking his seat and notes that the white slip of paper has already been collected from where Jensen dropped it.

His phone gets a text less than fifteen minutes later, while Jensen is still on the train home. The number is unknown, but the message is unambiguous.

_Well, you ruined Valentine's Day. I hope you're happy._

Jensen types back, _How did I ruin Valentine's? You're the one who crashed my dinner._

_You doomed that poor guy. He was perfectly nice. I could have had a very happy life with him._

_He chose that book all on his own. Don't put that on me._

It takes a few minutes for Jared to respond and Jensen thinks he's going to throw his phone if he has to stare at those three dots that mean Jared is typing something as they appear, disappear, and appear again.

Finally, a text notification hits his screen, and Jensen is so eager to read it that he forgets to get off at his stop and he doesn't even care. _Yeah, true. But he was already done before I even saw what he brought. How could anyone not be disappointing after I thought I'd be on a date with you?_

Jensen licks his lips and hesitates for a moment before sending. _What can I do to make up for it?_

_You could try actually being my date next time._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Slings and Arrows | written by cherie_morte](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601358) by [Tipsy_Kitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tipsy_Kitty/pseuds/Tipsy_Kitty)




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